• The Bucs jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead against the Bears and soundly defeated the Vikings’ NFC North rival 29-7 in Tampa Bay’s season opener Sunday.

• Quarterback Jameis Winston started his third NFL season with a 91.5 QB rating against the Bears, throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown on 18-for-30 passing.

• The touchdown and 93 yards went to a gargantuan target in 6-5 receiver Mike Evans, who is coming off a career-best 1,321 receiving yards last season.

• Tampa Bay’s defense stole the show, and the football, against Chicago. The Bucs notched four takeaways (two interceptions, two fumbles) by beating up Bears quarterback Mike Glennon, who was hit eight times and committed three turnovers.

PLAYER TO WATCH | DT GERALD MCCOY

Darren Carrol, MCT - MCT

Gerald McCoy

• McCoy, the third-overall pick in 2010 out of Oklahoma, has lived up to his potential as a disruptive force in the middle of Tampa Bay’s defensive line.

• Half of the Buccaneers’ eight hits on Glennon in last week’s victory came from McCoy, who at 6-4 and 300 pounds can get after the quarterback with the best of them. McCoy’s 42.5 sacks rank fifth among all NFL defensive tackles since he entered the league.

• He’s been named to five consecutive Pro Bowls and is a three-time first-team All-Pro.

• Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on McCoy: “He’s big, powerful, quick, great first-step quickness. He gets off the ball and goes. He wreaks a lot of havoc.”

From the coach: DIRK KOETTER

Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press

Dirk Koetter

• Koetter enters his second NFL season as the Buccaneers coach with a 10-7 record in the regular season and no playoff appearances yet.

• Koetter was the Buccaneers offensive coordinator in 2015 when the franchise spent the No. 1 overall pick on Winston, a promising talent from Florida State.

• On Tampa Bay delaying the start of the season because of Hurricane Irma: “We got extremely lucky. … The main inconveniences were getting in and out travel-wise and the loss of power.”

• On Winston: “He’s only 23 years old. He’s got 33 starts under his belt. If you look at the top quarterbacks in this league, they’ve all played for a long time. We really believe Jameis can be one of those guys.”

The Austrian soccer federation says Brazil will play its final warmup game for the World Cup against Austria on June 10, a week before the five-time world champions take on Switzerland in their Group E opener.